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911 Firecracker Explosion
Location: Fresno, California Date: October 30, 1991 Story On the afternoon of October 30, 1991 in Fresno, California, Carol Arazotti went to pick up her young daughter from her babysitter, leaving her 12-year-old son, Aaron, home alone for no more than an hour. He had an M-80 firecracker that a schoolmate had given him. He got bored and decided to get it. He found a lighter and lit the fuse. What he did not know is that they explode if you light them. He tried to put it out but it exploded in his hand. Aaron called 911. Dispatcher Franz Meltzer took the call. Aaron told him that he blew his hand off. When Franz asked him his name, he didn't realize it was a boy on the line, because he thought Aaron said "Ann". The Fresno Fire Department, the police, the bomb squad, and an ambulance were dispatched. Meltzer tried to calm Aaron down but he was in so much pain that he kept screaming into the phone. Meltzer later said that because Aaron found the firecracker he knew his wounds would be fatal because they have the same amount of explosives as a stick of dynamite or a pound of C-4. Meltzer told Aaron to get a towel and wrap his hand in it to elevate the wound. Meltzer knew the dangers of illegal fireworks because his friend lost his hand when they were playing with cherry bombs on the Fourth of July and one went off in his hand. Carol arrived home at 5pm, thirty minutes after the incident. She thought Aaron was watching a movie. As she went in the fire department pulled up. She screamed in horror when she saw Aaron's hand and took over the call. Meltzer told her that Aaron blew himself up and to wait for the paramedics. When Carol looked at Aaron's hand, she didn't see any fingers. They were nothing but stubs. Kurt Kindig treated it. He had lost a lot of blood. Kindig feared that he would be deformed for the rest of his life because of the extent of the damage. Carol said that he told her that he blew his hand off and that he was sorry he did it. She said it was a memory she could never erase. Aaron was rushed to St. Agnes Hospital where Jorge Maori and his team attempted to save his hand. He spent months in physical therapy and now has limited use of his hand because of nerve damage. Because the firecracker was in his palm, he has a shortened middle finger, since the tip was blown away by the explosion, but it could have been worse, as his hand could have been blown completely off. Maori said that he was lucky and managed to get rid of the firecracker before it exploded but he lost part of his finger and some of the strength in his hand. Aaron admits that what he did was stupid and he will suffer the pains of his blown off hand for the rest of his life. Category:1991 Category:California Category:Bombings Category:Bleeding Category:Amputations Category:Burns Category:Explosions